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Iron Age menu
800 BC - AD 43 |
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Cliff Castle
Cliff Castles are found all along the ‘Celtic Fringe’ in Cornwall,
Devon, Wales, Ireland and Brittany. They were constructed by
building one or more ramparts and ditches across the neck of a
coastal promontory and have much in common with hillforts,
including the fact that both site types appear in the fourth
millennium (from 500 BC) and go out of use in the first century AD,
around the time of the Roman occupation. Like hillforts, their
purpose is being re-evaluated in the light of information from
recent excavations and studies – they do not seem to function
primarily as settlements, and their coastal location suggests they
may have played a particular role in maritime trade. |
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Fogou
‘Fogou’ is a Cornish word meaning a cave, and Cornish fogous are
prehistoric underground passages constructed by excavating a trench
and lining its sides with either large stone blocks or drystone
walling, and then roofing this passage with large flat slabs. Fogous
are often found in association with later Iron Age or Romano-British
period settlements, but modern investigations have done little to
solve the enigma of their function – they may be ritual structures,
or have been used for storage or as a place of refuge. |
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Hillfort
At the top end of the hierarchy of later Iron Age settlement are the
hillforts. Defined by one or, more usually, two or three imposing
ramparts, these sites are interpreted as central places overseeing
large tribal territories. The ramparts may have been intended to
impress rather than to have functioned as a defensive barrier as few
signs of warfare ever come from excavation. They were constructed
from around 500 BC and appear to go out of fashion in the years
following the Roman Conquest. |
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During the 8th century BC iron gradually replaces bronze for weapons
and tools, but bronze continues to be used, especially for personal
items and jewellery.
A hierarchy of settlement sites develops, ranging from small family
farms in ‘Rounds’ up to the large scale and massively fortified
hillforts. Many hundreds of 'rounds', farmsteads and hamlets
defended by a single rampart, are found throughout favoured
farmland. The ramparts of these settlements have helped ensure their
survival, but unenclosed settlements of round houses and fields
would probably have been equally numerous.
The strongly defended hillforts and cliff castles are economic and
social centres. They are the strongholds of the aristocracy or
tribal chiefs who wield authority and exact tribute from the farmers
of the surrounding countryside. They are symbols of power and places
for trade and diplomacy, as well as for communal ceremonies
encouraging social cohesion, markets and fairs and perhaps,
religious rituals and seasonal ceremonies.
The dead are buried in cemeteries of pit-graves, sometimes lined with
stone, placed on their side in a crouched position, and normally
aligned north-south.
Arts and crafts flourish and metalworking reaches new heights of
achievement, culminating in the La Tčne style, applied to all kinds
of everyday objects as well as to precious objects such as gold neck
rings and armlets. |
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